Aden Veterans Association

Dear Friend,

Dear

Thank you for your enquiry about the Aden Veterans Association. Below is a brief summery of the Association formation and its aims.

The Aden Veterans Association was formed in March 2000 by Mr. John Hotston and Mr. Ernest Izard, both ex members of the Royal Sussex Regiment. Their aim, as remains the aim of the Association, was to bring together as many as possible of the thousands of ex service and civilian personnel who either served, or worked in Aden. Through our database file of members we are able to put some of those old comrades in touch with each other once again.

If you wish to join, please fill in the attached application form and supply a photocopy of your Record of Service.
 
After very long and sometimes difficult negotiations the Garter King of Arms granted the Association approval to wear as part of its badge the Queens Crown. It is true to say that few other associations have this right. A right of which we are very proud.
 
The Association holds an Annual General Meeting in September in Blackpool of each year, followed by a dinner / dance. A second re-union is held in Stirling, Scotland in March and it is hoped that in the near future a third re-union is to be held in the South West of the country, thus enabling as many members as possible to attend at least one re-union per year.
 
For the fourth year running, the Association has been invited, by the Royal British Legion to take part in the Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph in London. In addition, for the first time in our short history, we were invited to parade our own Standard at the Royal Albert Hall on the Saturday prior to the Cenotaph parade along with the Standards of the Royal British Legion.
 
For those of you with internet access, the association has its own web site which is kindly run on our behalf by Martin Sprit and Paul James. This site can be found at  www.britains-smallwars.com/AVA and through its Forum is another means by which members can stay in touch with each other. In addition to the Web Site, the Association publishes a news letter three times a year in which members are encouraged to recall and share their own memories of the time spent in Aden.
If I can be of any further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
 

Yours sincerely

Terry A Fowler.